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Since then, no matter where Myers's life has
taken him, his study --- and eventually teaching --- of Chinese
movement systems have continued. Whether living in New York
or Utah or California he has applied himself to the practices,
taking courses with respected masters and in turn passing
along what he learns to his students. He attributes his skill
as a teacher in part to the curriculum at Ithaca, which trained
him not only in methodology but also how to be at ease in
performance situations. "I used to be very nervous before
performances," he says, "but by the time I graduated I'd
learned how to get over it" --- a good thing, considering
his career path.
After graduation he taught music in school
systems and earned a graduate degree in library science.
Today, living in Berkeley, California, he works as a training
consultant for a leading international supplier of library
automation systems. It's high-stress work that keeps him
on the road and very much in the public eye. Thank goodness
for his tai chi practice, says Myers. He swears he rarely
gets ill and has learned to remain (relatively) calm.
What exactly is tai chi? Myers explains that
the practice is just one of thousands of forms of chi
gung --- a term that translates roughly as "practice
with chi," the energy that enlivens all things, according
to the Chinese worldview. Tai chi happens to be the type
of chi gung most widely promoted in the West, but in China
other forms of chi gung are commonly practiced.
"Chi gung develops power and health," Myers
says. It's because he's found it so personally helpful that
he decided to open his school, Silver Ox T'ai Chi, where
he holds classes one or two nights a week. "Most health care
is about fixing problems once they already exist. I'm more
interested in teaching people how to prevent those problems
in the first place," he says. But it doesn't stop there. "The
system I'm teaching begins at the physical/energetic level,
and then goes on to emotional and mental health. "He teaches
a very safe form, moving energy to stabilize the nervous
system and then incorporating Taoist breathing practices.
"It's so rewarding," says Myers, "to see people
develop, become more balanced. Even small changes make such
a difference."
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